Published 5:30 am, Thursday, September 23, 2004

After completing six to eight months of training, she'll become Officer Riley.

Riley will succeed — but never entirely replace — Officer Lucy, Oglesby's first bloodhound who died in late July.

"Just by coincidence, Riley was born on the day Lucy passed away," Oglesby said.

Oglesby picked up his new partner-in-training last week, after several visits to a bloodhound breeder to observe puppies who might be suitable for police work.

"When we first looked at them, they were four weeks old, and we were looking for certain traits: to see how they responded to noise, to see how they behaved when they ate and when they played, were they off alone, or aggressive," Oglesby said. "We did certain tests with them, and what we were looking for, we saw in several puppies."

When Riley tested well, Oglesby said, "That's when I decided I wanted her."

Oglesby said that the type of dog he was looking for "is not the kind of dog most people would want around their house."

"The dogs we look for are very active, they are into everything. A lot of people just want a dog that's real loving, real nice around the house, who gets along well with all the family members," he said. "When we see one that has a high vibe and is always ready to do something, that's the one we want."

Training under way

Oglesby has already started training Riley for police work.

Last week, he ran several "puppy trails" with her, which involves having the dog follow a person at the end of a trail. The training gets more complicated with the runner hiding behind trees or shrubs until the puppy finds him, Oglesby said.

Riley should be ready for police work in six to eight months, Oglesby said.

Oglesby said working with his new partner-in-training "has been very therapeutic" in terms of getting over the loss of Lucy.

"She is very playful and she is a lot better with other people than Lucy was at this age," Oglesby said. "The majority of bloodhounds are very people-oriented, and are glad to be with them. Lucy was the exception. Lucy was very protective of me, I had to watch her around other people because of her over-protectiveness."

Community support

Oglesby said the community support after Lucy's death — including the city of Bellaire's decision to name the new municipal dog park after Lucy — has helped him mourn the loss of his first bloodhound.

The Bellaire City Council unanimously approved naming the new dog park "Officer Lucy Park" on Monday. The new park will open at 6 p.m. Oct. 5. Oglesby said he plans to attend, and to bring Riley to the festivities.

In the days immediately after Lucy died, Oglesby was almost unable to speak about her.

"I was just really surprised at all the support here," he said. "It's one of those things you never know — how much the community knew about the kind of work she did until after she was gone. And I think it is very, very nice what the city has done with the dog park."

"The bank was one of the first to start something, which really took me by surprise," Oglesby said.

Dobbs said the Canine Officer Fund at the bank was started with a $100 donation from the bank and the Buzz. The fund is now "a little more than $900," Dobbs said.

Building support

The bank is going to start an effort to involve schoolchildren and parent-teacher organizations in the fund-raising efforts, Dobbs said.

"When Lucy died, we just thought it would be a great thing for us to bring back another canine officer to help Bellaire's crime prevention efforts," Dobbs said. "We know it was a pretty traumatic thing for Detective Oglesby, and this is a way of moving forward."

Last week, the City Council approved accepting a grant from Randall's grocery stores and Milk-Bone.

The money will help pay for Riley's training, food and veterinary care.

RILEY'S CARE

A little more than $900 has been raised for Riley and her training, food and veterinary care.

Contributions

To make a contribution to the Canine Officer Fund, donations can be dropped off at Community National Bank, or mailed to the bank, 5123 Bellaire Blvd., Bellaire, Texas 77401. The bank is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
For more information, see the bank's Web site at
www.commnatlbank.com
.